


Of regrets and promises

by cherryri



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Character Study, Childhood Friends, Enemies to Friends, Gen, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:34:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27492754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryri/pseuds/cherryri
Summary: The Doctor needs someone. Sometimes, just once in a long long while, that amazing woman who shows everyone just how vast and complicated and beautiful the universe is needs someone who would do the same for her.
Relationships: The Doctor & The Master (Doctor Who), Thirteenth Doctor & The Master (Dhawan)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	Of regrets and promises

«I regret it,» she says, staring blankly into his eyes.

«Regret what?»

«Having one more lifetime,» she adds. «I regret it.»

This is the first time in his entire life the Master doesn’t know what to say. All of his bright brilliant words vanish the moment he looks at the Doctor.

«I’m sorry» is all he manages to tell her.

«I know.»

They sit in uncomfortable, anxious silence for another few moments as he tries to find the right words. He doesn’t.

He _is_ sorry. Not for destroying the citadel or all those Gallifreyan cities, not for devastating every inhabited place on the planet leaving nothing but the forests and fields- _the beautiful forests with silver leaves on the trees and the fields of red grass, the ones they would spend days and days running across as kids, just trying to get as far as they could, to explore as much as they could_ , he muses as he looks at the horizon; there's something breathtaking in the fact that all is left is those forests and fields containing their memories of old days- he doesn’t feel sorry for any of this. Only for hurting the Doctor.

And he’s in such a fury that the timelords hurt her too.

They both keep looking at the red fields that lie in front of them, not brave enough to look at each other. The wind blows a little, and the waves on the grass start rolling from the tips of their shoes and all the way to the horizon, disappearing far away from where the two of them had landed.

«I never liked them,» she says, obviously forcing herself to talk. «I never trusted them. I just-- I never thought they would do something like that to us.»

The Doctor, the brave astonishing Doctor sounds like a child, a little girl she once was – he knows she was for sure now – and the Master barely manages to stop himself from giving her a hug the way he used to when they were children. He just puts his hand on her shoulder, thinking hugs are probably not their thing now.

«I know. But hey…» A lump builds up in his throat as he talks. All the pain and confusion and all his noisy thoughts and the resentment he feels when he thinks about Gallifrey and the Timelords- It all collapses on him. But another thing he knows is that it’s so much worse for the Doctor. So for the first time, he decides to put his own hurt on hold. «I’m glad you’re alive.»

She is the first to pull him into a hug.

«I just don’t know what to do.»

«Well, y’know, the universe is big and…» An impulsive idea strikes his mind. «Remember our promise? To see it together?»

«Yeah?»

«Do you still want to try?»

«I mean, if you won’t decide to destroy a planet again,» she laughs a bit.

«Can’t promise that.»

«Hey!»

«Just kidding~»

The Master knows it’s probably not what the Doctor calls «kindness». It clearly doesn’t fit the «without hope, without witness, without reward» thing; especially the «without hope» part. There’s definitely hope, there’s so much hope; a weird, paradoxal and desperate kind of hope, but still.

So yeah, it’s probably not kindness. It’s something else. Might just be an egoistic impuls, an expression of hope to fulfill a stupid childish dream formed in a simple promise they could both as well easily ignore. And he knows it won’t be enough for the Doctor forever. And in the end, it might result in them going back to being that weird sort of frenemies.

The Master knows all of that.

But also- The Doctor needs someone. Sometimes, just once in a long long while, that amazing woman who shows everyone just how vast and complicated and beautiful the universe is needs someone who would do the same for her.

After all, he told her he was still her friend. Centuries ago, when he was still going by «Missy» or something. And it’s probably high time he proved it.

(And maybe hugs _are_ their thing now, after all.)


End file.
